Elementary schools across Pima County, Arizona (36.4% Latino), like Los Amigos Technology Academy, are encouraging a culture of health and physical activity through walking school buses. In their first year as a Safe Routes to School (SRTS) focus school, Los Amigos teachers and parents developed a Fitness Friday initiative with a bike train and five walking routes that meet to create one large walking school bus. With Living Streets Alliance, they also started a bike repair clinic to teach students basic bike maintenance skills. Over 100 students participate in each Fitness Friday, and over 300 students and local organizations and agencies joined the annual WALKtober challenge to encourage more kids and families to walk or bike to school. "Even with the rough, rocky sides of ...
Crime, violence and the fear of violence lead to reduced physical activity and loss of motivation to invest in health. According to a report from Safe Routes to School National Partnership (SRTS), 23% of Latino parents reported their neighborhoods were unsafe, compared with 8% of white parents. It is critical to address crime and violence for Latinas because 40% fewer girls than boys walk and bicycle to school and 52% of Latina girls are expected to get diabetes over the course of their lifetime. Additionally, Latinos are disproportionately burdened by traffic fatalities compared to whites. The Taking Back the Streets and Sidewalks report from SRTS is a reference for those working on violence prevention to increase the safety and health of children and youth, and ensure that ...
"Transportation professionals should be more concerned about the personal safety of Black and Hispanic cyclists because they are in a position to change how the built environment either acts as a conduit or barrier to criminal activity," Charles T. Brown, a transportation researcher and adjunct professor of planning and public policy at Rutgers University, wrote in his report, Fear: A Silent Barrier to Bicycling in Black and Hispanic Communities. Brown saw a lack of research on transportation justice, which prompted him and James A. Sinclair, research manager at the New Jersey Bicycle and Pedestrian Resource Center, to explore why some Black and Hispanic individuals choose not to bicycle; what prevents people of color who do bike from cycling more often; and how to encourage all ...
Pedestrians have a 90% survival rate if they are hit by a vehicle going 20 miles per hour, compared to only a 50% survival rate if hit by a vehicle going 30 mph. In 2016, Seattle, WA (6.6% Latino); Alexandria, VA (16.9% Latino); Boston, MA (17.5%Latino); and New York City, NY (28.6% Latino), among other cities lowered the default speed limit in some urban and residential areas by 5-10 mph. Speed is the most important factor to regulate to improve pedestrian safety for Latinos and all pedestrians, and can help boost daily physical activity, which is important for mental and physical health. The founder and director of the Vision Zero Network to eliminate traffic fatalities and injuries, Leah Shahum, says state permission is a key obstacle to traffic safety that cities have ...
On Thursday, March 9, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a plan to address “persistent problems of poverty, violence, and poor health” in the borough of Brooklyn (28.92% Latino population). The eight-pronged plan hopes to incorporate holistic approaches to address these concerning issues. The initiative, entitled Vital Brooklyn, looked to poor resources several economically struggling neighborhoods in Brooklyn. While much of Brooklyn has prospered in recent years, crime and unemployment are still rampant in certain areas. “For too long investment in underserved communities has lacked the strategy necessary to end systemic social and economic disparity,” Cuomo said in an interview with The New York Times. “But in Central Brooklyn those failed approaches stop today. We ...
About 60% of adults with arthritis are working age-ages 18-64 years old, according to a new Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Arthritis is a disabling chronic condition that can lead to severe joint pain and poor physical function and negatively affect quality of life. Physical activity, like walking, swimming, or biking, can decrease arthritis pain and improve physical function; however, people with arthritis are often concerned about worsening pain and damaging joints. Download the March 2017 Vital Signs Fact Sheet. Although Latinos had a lower rates of arthritis, they had a far higher rates of physical limitations due to arthritis. Pain and safety concerns often leads to limited mobility which could ...
What does "active living" really mean? It means infusing physical activity into your daily life. We shouldn't have to depart from our normal routines to get the mental and physical benefits of moving more and sitting less, which are proven to improve your health and reduce your disease risk. But not all neighborhoods have safe sidewalks or parks, and not all schools and employers provide time or space to be active. This causes certain disparities in adverse health outcomes for certain populations. Let’s use #SaludTues on Tuesday, March 7, 2017, to tweet on how diverse partners can unite to make daily physical activity a reality where Latinos and all people live, learn, work, and play: WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “How to get Diverse Partners to Buy Into Physical ...
Communities and organizations play a role in developing policies and programs to support walking, biking, physical activity, and healthy communities. Whether for recreation, transportation, work, or household, physical activity improves mental and physical health and reduces risk for chronic disease. In order to reduce health disparities, it is important for communities to ensure that all residents have access to safe places to walk, bike, play and be active where they live, learn, work, play, pray, according to a Salud America! research review. Check out these seven case studies from Voices 4 Healthy Kids and Safe Routes to School National Partnership. They demonstrate successful state- and local-level campaigns to increase physical activity, through active transportation ...
Designing healthy, complete neighborhoods requires a holistic, collaborative process, but collaboration can get messy. Charrettes are a creative way for agencies, organizations, groups, and community members to bust out of their specialist silos and work together to solve community planning and design problems. Charrettes are of often intense meetings lasting multiple days. The National Charrette Institute (NCI) began training professionals in collaborative design and charrettes in 2002. In 2017, NCI partnered with the Michigan State University (MSU) School of Planning, Design and Construction (SPDC) and MSU Extension. Professionals, such as transportation engineers, architects, urban designers, and planners need to work together with citizens, elected officials, ...
